SAN DIEGO MAN SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON FOR PIMPING AND PANDERING WOMAN IN SANTA ANA

*The crime was discovered during a routine traffic stop

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A San Diego man was sentenced to three years in state prison yesterday for pimping and pandering a woman, which was discovered during a routine traffic stop in Santa Ana. Rodney Jerome Walker, 50, San Diego, pleaded guilty on March 15, 2017, to a court offer of one felony count each of pimping and pandering.

Circumstances of the Case

Walker is a pimp who exploits women for financial gain. Pimps often establish rigid rules that their victims are expected to follow including setting daily quotas that the victims are expected to fulfill. The victims are often required to turn over all payment they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp. Failure to follow these rules can result in deprivation of food and/or physical and/or emotional abuse.

Before Oct. 7, 2016, Walker met Jane Doe in San Diego and she told him she was homeless and needed money. Between Oct. 7, 2016, and Oct. 12, 2016, the defendant drove the victim to areas of Orange County known for prostitution and kept money the victim received from sex purchasers for his own benefit.

On Oct. 12, 2016, Walker was pulled over by a Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officer during a routine traffic stop. Evidence of pimping was observed in the defendant’s vehicle and Jane Doe was located nearby. At the time of his arrest, Walker had the victim’s EBT card in his wallet, and his phone contained text messages to Jane Doe consistent with him pimping the victim.

Members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) and the Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) Office work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. This case was investigated by OCHTTF, a partnership between Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Costa Mesa Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Irvine Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and community and non-profit partners.

Deputy District Attorney Kelly Manley of the HEAT Unit prosecuted this case.

Proposition 35 and HEAT

To read more about California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 and the OCDA’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, please visit www.orangecountyda.org and select Human Trafficking Information from the Media Center drop down menu.